I Can Fix You
by ICanHearPokemon'sVoices
Summary: After their game is transferred to another arcade, Vanellope meets another Felix and Ralph who are entirely different from the ones she knew. While befriending them, along with a few other game characters, a dark shadow is spotted traveling between certain games. RalphxFelix and other assorted pairings. Rated T for possible language and violence. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**This is my first Wreck-It Ralph fic, since you know it just came out like...a week or two ago, so please be nice xD  
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**I hope I got everyone's personality correct or at least close to it.  
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**In the next chapter I'll explain how this story is gonna go with the pairing so you guys don't get confused but...not now.  
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**Oh! Before I forget...I should do the whole...naming the pairings thing. So pairings are:  
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**Main: Raphix (RalphxFelix), Shink (Male!SheikxLink), AkuRoku, SoRiku, Zemyx, and XigLux. Mayybbeeee VanellopexTaffyta...  
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**Hints: XemSai, XalLex, MarVex, NarmLarx, and ehh, RancixGlloyd?**

**Uhh, anyway...please enjoy. :3  
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**I don't own Wreck-It Ralph or the preview pic; they belong to their original owners xD  
**

**Read and Review. :)**

* * *

It was just like any other day at Litwak's Arcade; kids were playing the games while the parents watched from the sidelines as the sun shone high in the sky outside, waiting for the kids to come outside and play while their spring break lasted instead of numbing their minds for the entire two weeks.

A man in his early twenties entered the arcade, but he had no kid beside him or one rushing into the building.

Litwak greeted the man as he did to everyone who passed through the front door.

The man nodded in reply, slowly glancing around at the many games as he strode forward, black coat billowing behind him.

The man was strange, Litwak thought, but he wasn't one to judge.

Litwak continued his normal rounds as the man observed certain games, eventually coming to Fix-It Felix Jr.

Brushing the layered bang of steel-blue hair hanging in front of his right eye, the man knelt down slightly, watching a kid trying to beat the Bonus Level.

_That's Q*bert…_he thought, watching as the small orange character helped Felix repair whatever Ralph, Slick, and a few other characters from Q*bert destroyed.

_Must be a Special Edition…_the man decided, narrowing his dark blue eyes as he straightened, heading toward Sugar Rush next.

He observed a young blond girl driving; her character was Vanellope, who was currently behind two other characters.

Suddenly, the kart disappeared briefly before appearing in front of the two racers, coming in first place.

Raising an eyebrow, the man looked toward where he had seen Litwak go.

"Hey, Litwak!"

"Yes?" Litwak walked toward the man who gestured to Sugar Rush as the girl departed to play another game.

"Is that an upgraded version of Sugar Rush?"

"Oh, no. I haven't upgraded any of my machines."

"I've seen a lot of Sugar Rush consoles recently and I haven't seen a Vanellope with that sort of ability."

"Someone must have unlocked it somehow," Litwak shrugged.

"Just like that Bonus Level on Felix Jr.?"

Litwak glanced toward the other game before looking back at the man.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Zephyr. I operate the arcade halfway across town; perhaps you've heard of it—Games of the Heart. My boyfriend Dennis and I cosplay as Demyx and Zexion every so often."

"And who are they?"

Zephyr chuckled, "Of course you wouldn't know about that game; or any new games. Look, I need another old-fashioned game for my arcade."

"You can't have Sugar Rush," Litwak said firmly. "The kids love it."

"I want it," Zephyr growled, narrowing his eyes. "And I will have it."

The man instantly became amiable again, smiling slightly.

"Of course I will pay you enough to buy another, newer racing game that will bring you even more quarters."

Unbeknownst to the two men, Vanellope was listening to their conversation as she waited for someone else to come and play the game.

It was difficult for her to keep up her act as she continued to listen, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

_Come on, Mr. Litwak… _Vanellope silently pleaded. _Say no._

"The kids like Vanellope and the other racers," Litwak explained. "I can't do that to them."

"Vanellope's ability is just a glitch," Zephyr said.

_I am not a glitch!_ Vanellope scowled at Zephyr's back as she continued her act before she pouted. _I just have Pixlexia…_

"It's not a glitch," Litwak shook his head, as if he had heard Vanellope's thoughts. "A glitch is what happened to Turbotime and the other racing game I had."

"Oh, yes," Zephyr sighed. "I heard about that. Shame on what happened to Turbo; that's why I don't have a Turbotime at my arcade."

"I'm still not selling Sugar Rush to you."

_You tell him, Mr. Litwak!_

"Sugar Rush is outdated in terms of racing games; I can find a nice upgrade for you that the kids will love more than this."

_I'll upgrade you!_

Litwak sighed, glancing toward Sugar Rush before he reluctantly shook his head, obviously defeated.

"….Give me till 10:30 tomorrow and you can have her."

"Glad you see it my way, Litwak," Zephyr smiled, patting Litwak's shoulder as he walked past him. "See you tomorrow."

With a groan, Litwak shook his head again before touching the side of the Sugar Rush console.

"Sorry, old gal. It's been a good run, but I suppose it's time I let you go," Litwak slowly walked away, "like I did with my Nana."

Vanellope was dumbfounded.

Litwak was going to give away her game?!

_No way!_

* * *

After the familiar 'Arcade's closed' was shouted, all the games relaxed and began to go about their normal nightly routines.

"Nice job, everyone," Felix said to the Nicelanders before hopping to the ground. "And you too Ralph."

"Don't you have a wife to see?" Ralph teased as he climbed to his feet, brushing off the mud covering his front.

"Jiminy Jaminy!" the repairman yelped. "You're right!"

As Felix hopped toward the train station leading to Game Central, Ralph trailed after him to join him so he could visit Sugar Rush.

"Hey, what's that noise?" Ralph asked as Felix climbed into the small train cart.

Just as Felix was about to say something, Ralph shushed him as he listened intently.

The sound of revving became louder and suddenly a racing kart burst through the entrance, skidding to a stop beside the tiny station as someone leaped out of the kart.

"Stinkbrain!" Vanellope wailed, clinging to the wrecker's leg as she started to sob.

"Whoa, whoa, what's the matter?" Ralph glanced at Felix briefly as he picked up the young racer before looking at Vanellope. "Why are you crying? Did Taffyta make fun of you again?"

"Stupid!" Vanellope sniffled, accidentally glitching in the process. "I wouldn't come to you if it was something like her!"

"Then what's the matter?" Felix asked.

"Litwak's gonna unplug my game tomorrow!"

Both Ralph and Felix gasped as Vanellope continued to sniffle.

"But why?" Ralph questioned. "Your game is perfectly fine! There's nothing wrong with it!"

"Some guy came in and said he wants my game and told Litwak that he'd get him a new racing game…"

"And he said yes?!" Felix asked in surprise.

Vanellope miserably nodded as Felix and Ralph looked at each other.

"Everyone loves you, though," Ralph murmured. "Why would he agree to something like that…?"

"If he unplugs you, everything will reset," Felix explained sadly. "You won't remember us."

"I don't want to leave…" Vanellope whispered, refusing to let go of Ralph's neck. "I like it here."

"We don't want you to go either," Ralph said as Vanellope glitched again, "but maybe you'll make new friends."

"I don't want any new friends, I have you guys!" Vanellope complained. "You're the only Stinkbrain, Hammerguy, and Sergeant I want to be friends with!"

"Hammerguy…?" Felix muttered to himself, obviously wounded by the nickname.

"You have no choice, President Candyhair," Ralph teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You have to go."

"Commander Diaper baby…" Vanellope smiled weakly as the brunette set her down.

"You should go back to your game to inform everyone of what's happening so they aren't surprised," Felix suggested. "Though I'm sure Litwak will put up a sign to tell the customers."

"Yeah…" Vanellope reluctantly headed back to her kart.

"Hey!" Ralph called after her. "I'll see you later, Queen of the candy children!"

Vanellope smirked, taking the challenge.

"And farewell to you, Sir Stinkbrain!"

"A good morrow to you, Shortstack!" Ralph yelled as the racer started up her kart.

"See you later, Monsieur Hero's Doody," Vanellope laughed as she sharply turned her kart in a U-turn and shot off down the line, heading toward Game Central.

"To be continued!" Ralph shouted after the girl.

"Yeah!" Vanellope's voice replied.

The wrecker sighed once he couldn't hear the kart's engine anymore, lowering his hand before taking out the medal that Vanellope had made for him and stared at it.

"This is one thing that I can't fix," Felix muttered, glancing up at Ralph. "I know you and her—"

"Hey, I'm fine, okay?" Ralph grinned at Felix. "This might be good for her; she knows not every game can stay here forever."

* * *

Vanellope parked her kart outside the castle and hoped out, glitching inside the main hall a second later.

"Welcome back, Vanellope," Sour Bill greeted dully.

"Hey, Bill," Vanellope replied, sitting at her chair with a huff and crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted, thinking over what she should do.

She was certain that if she told everyone what was happening, they would panic; would some abandon ship if she told everyone? Or blame her?

Vanellope sighed, irritated that she couldn't do anything before she perked up as an idea popped into her mind.

"Hey, Bill," Vanellope sat up, leaning toward the small green candy eagerly. "Ralph told me after the whole Turbo fiasco was over that he locked up everyone's memories."

"Yes…" Sour Bill said cautiously, wondering what the girl was getting at.

"Show me how he did it."

"I probably shouldn't…" Sour Bill murmured. "You shouldn't mess with the code."

"That's fine, then," Vanellope responded casually. "I'll just get Ralphy over here to lick you again."

"No!" Sour Bill yelped in panic before he became calm when he saw Vanellope's smirk. "I shouldn't, but…"

The candy sighed, going behind the throne and waving for Vanellope to follow him.

The two walked down a dimly lit hallway until they came to a door that was locked with a strange combination of buttons.

"I remember he put in some sort of code to open the door," Sour Bill said as he picked up a nearby line of licorice rope. "But I don't know what it was; he never showed me."

Vanellope stared at the door as she tied the rope around her waist.

"Was it the Konami Code?" she asked, glancing at Sour Bill.

"Perhaps."

Deciding to give it a try, Vanellope pressed up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and then Start.

For a second, the door didn't budge and Vanellope thought that she had entered it wrong, but as she was about to try another code, the door slid open to reveal the grey space that held the myriad of codes which made up Sugar Rush.

"Cool…" Vanellope breathed before she boldly jumped into the system, Sour Bill instantly grabbing the other end of the rope.

"Be careful, Vanellope," Sour Bill called to the young girl as she swam deeper into the code.

"Let me see…racers, karts, stupid, stupid, stupid…" Vanellope muttered to herself as she searched for what she was looking for. "Ah, found it!"

Vanellope looked at the two pieces of code which announced 'Citizen's memory' and 'Racer's memory'.

Vanellope memorized the location before gliding back to where Sour Bill waited.

"Do you have a chest somewhere?"

Sour Bill appeared to think about it before he muttered, "There's a chest that holds your most precious—"

"Great. Go get it."

Sour Bill deadpanned before he reluctantly turned and trotted away.

While he was gone, Vanellope turned around, pulling out a sharp candy cane pocket knife from the pocket of her green hoodie and began to carve the code into the bottom of the wall before also writing 'chest' and 'key'.

She smiled, glitching as she stared at her work proudly before putting away the knife as Sour Bill returned, dragging a medium-sized chest.

"Thanks, Bill," Vanellope snatched the chest from the small candy and pushed it into the code before leaping in after it and carefully maneuvering the chest until she reached the memory codes again and opened the chest.

Vanellope hesitated, wondering if even if she did lock up everyone's memory if when the game was plugged back in the chest would still be in the code.

Turbo was the first one to have even found a game's code, but it was possible even he didn't know what would happen if the game were unplugged; he had just been lucky.

Vanellope took a deep breath and then rapidly slammed the chest closed, severing the cords connected to the memory codes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**All right, here's chapter 2! :D I'm glad you guys like it; it's my first and I got 9 reviews in one day! It's a new record! xD  
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**Uhh, let me see, what else do I have to say...oh.  
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**In your reviews, don't just say 'update'. Try to get a little bit more about what you liked about the chapter, some questions, etc.  
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**Ohh...I will answer any questions I got and I did get one...from...Flamewolfhowler I think it was. He asked about the whole memory thing.  
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**Well for those of you who have seen the movie (sorry for those who haven't but this is going to be a BIG spoiler, so, don't read!), you remember that King Candy came into the game's code and locked it up everyone's memory using a chest so that no one would remember that Vanellope was their princess.  
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**Hope that clears it up for you, Flame! :D  
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**Other than that, please enjoy! :)  
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**I don't own WIR. :/ Sadly...**

**Read and Review please! :D  
**

* * *

"All right, closing time everybody!" Zephyr called as Dennis began to usher everyone toward the door.

Dennis was Zephyr's age and a good five inches taller than him, currently wearing the Organization XIII cloak just like Zephyr.

Unlike some cosplayers who used contacts to get their eyes to match whoever they were cosplaying as, Dennis's were sea-green like Demyx's and Zephyr's were dark blue like Zexion's.

Dennis's dirty blond hair (also natural) mimicked the musician's and like Demyx, he knew how to play a sitar.

"All right," Dennis sighed after he had gotten the last kid out of the arcade, heading toward Zephyr who was locking the front door. "I'll go start the car."

"Okay," Zephyr responded as he pulled at the door, testing to make sure he had locked it correctly as he always did every night.

Dennis gave Zephyr a quick peck on the cheek.

"See you there, babe."

Zephyr nodded as he stared at the flickering lights form the may game consoles inside, particularly at his new Sugar Rush game; ever since he had plugged the baby in and sometimes watched a few kids play, he had noticed that Vanellope wasn't a part of the racing roster.

"Hope they aren't too mad at me for moving their game…" Zephyr muttered to himself as he tested the door once more before heading to where Dennis waited with the car.

Zephyr thought that each game, each character within the game, and the game's world were alive in a metaphorical sense; if you build something from the heart, then it became alive within the creator and within whoever witnessed the builder's work.

But Zephyr knew that video games were just made up of codes and numbers.

Once Dennis and Zephyr had departed, the game nearest to the window paused and waited for a few seconds before calling out, "Arcade's closed, y'all!"

All the game characters sighed and relaxed, heading off screen to visit other games or go to Tapper's for a root beer.

In the far corner of the room was Fix-It Felix Jr. game wedged in-between a Mario game and Pac-man.

Within the game, the Nicelanders were congratulating Felix on another job well done while the repairman gave out his normal 'It wasn't a big deal' and 'It was the gamer, not me' statements.

As the citizens began to head inside the building, Felix hesitated, glancing down and watching Ralph on the ground below.

The wrecker was half-heartedly wiping the mud off his clothes as he slowly made his way to the enormous pile of bricks in the dump which made up his home.

Gene paused at the door leading to the penthouse of the apartment, glancing back at Felix.

"Are you coming, Felix?" he questioned.

"Y-yeah, yeah," Felix answered distractedly, barely glancing at Gene. "I just have to take care of something real fast."

"All right," Gene muttered dubiously. "Jut steer clear of Ralph; he's dangerous."

"Yeah, I know."

Gene huffed, closing the door behind him as Felix called the ladder attached to the side of the building.

Felix hopped to the top of the pile of bricks where Ralph's stump was and glanced around for the wrecker.

When he noticed that the area was empty, Felix became concerned as he called out, "Ralph?"

The repairman began to search for Ralph, yelling his name as quietly as he could in hopes that he would get an answer.

Just as Felix was about to give up and head back to the apartment where it appeared as if the Nicelanders were having a party, the blond paused when he heard a rustling sound nearby.

Felix leaped to the ground, slipping around to the back of the brick pile where he saw Ralph hunched over something.

Felix was relieved that he had found the large man, but now that he had found Ralph he didn't know what to say.

"Hey, Ralph," Felix greeted hesitantly, nervously shifting from foot to foot as he tried to think of something to say. "What, uh…"

Felix stood on tiptoe, leaning to the side slightly as he struggled to see what the larger man was doing.

"What are you doing?"

Ralph made no reply, not stopping in whatever he was doing.

Cautiously, Felix edged closer to get a better look at Ralph's project.

As he rounded the wrecker's side, Felix saw that Ralph was building what appeared to be a small house with a space between the bricks for a door and another gap for a window.

It was a tiny house, only reaching up to Ralph's chest, with the bricks placed as neatly as possible.

"Hey, that's pretty…nice," Felix said with a nervous grin. "Do you…want some help with it?"  
When Ralph made no reply, Felix took his silence as a yes and was about to pick up a nearby brick when he was stopped by Ralph's voice.

"I don't need your help, Felix."

"Oh…" Felix pulled back, a little wounded by the statement, but he kept up a smile. "Okay."

Ralph continued his construction while Felix hovered, unsure of what he should do.

Should he leave Ralph to his building? Or should he stay and keep the wrecker company?

Ralph knew Felix was still beside him, uncertain of whether he should leave, but the large man ignored the repairman as he continued his work.

He knew Felix's personality pretty well; Felix was the type of guy who wanted to help however he could and would sometimes risk his own life to protect his friends.

It wasn't' that Ralph disliked Felix. It was that he simply didn't care about what the repairman did; if he risked his life, it wasn't Ralph's problem.

Felix knew every game Zephyr's arcade had and he was friends with everyone, even the villains.

Ralph, however, had never stepped foot outside Fix-It Felix Jr. and it was going to stay that way.

The wrecker was so lost in his own thoughts that he accidentally bumped his hand into the side of his house, knocking it down.

Ralph stared at the pile of bricks in slight disappointment.

"Oh…that's a mighty shame," Felix muttered, also staring at the destroyed house, obviously troubled about what had happened.

He pulled his gold hammer from his toolbelt, holding it up slightly with a weak smile.

"I can fix it."

Ralph remained silent as he smooth out the bricks and began his project again.

"It would be easier if I just hit it with my hammer," Felix suggested softly, trying not to make it appear as if the wrecker should take his offer.

"I don't need your help, Fix-It," Ralph explained firmly, glancing at Felix as he paused briefly in his work. "Go home."

Hurt by the forcefulness in the wrecker's voice, Felix gradually trudged back toward the apartment, glancing back at Ralph one last time.

When the large man didn't turn around, Felix sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he kicked at the ground childishly.

Ralph: 20 Felix: 0

Ralph was the only person Felix hadn't made friends with yet as the wrecker seemed to reject everyone but himself.

Felix paused when he heard a faint crunch and glanced down, lifting his foot slightly to see a small slip of muddy paper halfway buried in the ground.

Carefully, Felix pulled the paper free and smoothed it out to try and read what it said.

The lettering was faint and worn, probably from being run over by the bulldozer so many times, but still legible.

Felix could tell that it was Ralph's handwriting—sloppy and practically a scrawl.

There was only one sentence on the thin slip and it was a sentence that made Felix's heart stop.

**I want to die.**

Felix continued to stare at the paper, his mind completely frozen, before he noticed something white out of the corner of his eye.

Rapidly, Felix picked it up to discover another slip of paper that had the same dreadful sentence etched onto it.

**I want to die.**

Concerned, Felix glanced back at Ralph as if afraid the giant man was going to commit suicide right then and there.

_Ralph? _He thought, wondering what was going on in the wrecker's mind.

Quickly, Felix placed the two strips of paper in his pocket and headed back to the apartment before Ralph turned around and noticed that he was still there.

* * *

Felix placed the two strips of paper on his desk as he stared at them, trying to figure out anything that he could.

They were both many months apart as one was definitely older than the other.

Unable to look at the sentence anymore, Felix pushed them into the trashcan beside his desk before heading over to his window and gazing outside.

Felix had a good view of the dump and from where he was he could faintly make out Ralph still working on his house.

The repairman wondered when Ralph had started trying to build a house or even writing that horrid sentence on slips of paper; when had the wrecker's personality changed?

Felix liked Ralph. The wrecker was a nice guy despite being the villain of their game, but then again, Felix knew a lot of bad guys who were nice outside their games.

But Ralph didn't want to be friend with anyone and for the past 20 years Felix had been trying to become friends with Ralph, but was always rejected.

Felix's mind drifted back to the slips of paper.

**I want to die.**

_Ralph wouldn't try that, would he?_ Felix wondered as he continued to watch Ralph try to keep his house standing for more than five minutes.

Finally, Felix decided that he was going to try and help Ralph.

He didn't know with what, but he was going to try anything he could.

And to start out, Felix was going to try and get Ralph to Game Central Station.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**I am happy to report that this story is back up and running! :D Thanks to those who have Favorited, Alerted AND Reviewed this story.  
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**Special shout-outs to: Crazy-Pairing-Girl and GhiraLinkLover4Ever for reviewing both chapters. :3 Love ya guys! :)  
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**To all those who just Favorited or Alerted, I choose that you all be executed! xD Nahhh, jk people. JK.  
**

**Also...sorry that this one is not as long as the others. :/ For this one I guess I'm not really making a set limit of words, but I'm at least trying to write at least 6 pages. So some chapters will be long, some will be short...  
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**Ahh...let me see...what other news do I have...? Oh.  
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**From now on the Ralph and Felix mentioned are the Ralph and Felix from Zephyr's arcade, unless otherwise noted, all right?  
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**Hmmm...let me see...I think that's about it...  
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**So...I don't own WIR. :/ Disappointment, man.  
**

**Please read and review! :D**

* * *

Another working day was over for the games, who all sighed and went about their nightly business.

Ralph, as usual, swiped the mud off his body with his large hands before heading toward the dump as the Nicelanders crowded around Felix as the handyman exited the condominium.

"Whoa, one at a time, folks," Felix said, raising his hands as the tenants bombarded him with questions and compliments.

Felix paused when he noticed Ralph walking past and perked up slightly.

"Hey, Ralph."

The wrecker stopped, glancing at Felix sullenly, before he slowly continued.

A bit disappointed, Felix bid farewell to the Nicelanders as he tried to make his way out of the small mob.

As Felix sprinted after Ralph, the other tenants headed inside the building except for Gene was watched where the honey-blond repairman was heading.

The landlord scowled, crossing his arms over his chest as he huffed.

"What does he think he's doing?"

* * *

"Ralph! Hey, Ralph, wait for me!"

With an irritated groan, Ralph stopped, looking behind him to see Felix stumbling after him.

"Ralph, wai—ahh!"

Ralph watched impassively as Felix tripped over a brick and fell flat on his face.

Giving an amused scoff, Ralph picked Felix up by the back of the shirt and set him back on his feet.

"Oh…thanks, buddy."

"Can't have you going back to the Nicelanders all dirty…" Ralph muttered as Felix brushed the dirt off his shirt.

"Hey, I think that's the most I've heard you talk," Felix said off-handedly as he straightened his cap, content with his appearance.

Ralph snorted, ignoring Felix as he set about stacking a few bricks to start his project again.

"So…" Felix shuffled his feet, realizing that the silence was becoming awkward. "You want to…I dunno know…go to Game Central Station?"

"No."

Felix blinked, surprised at the blunt response.

"No?" he questioned, completely baffled by Ralph's reply. "Why not?"

"I like it here. You can't make me leave."

Felix scowled, planting his hands on his hips.

"Ralph, if you don't come with me, I will force you to Game Central Station."

Ralph paused in his work before he turned around and stood up, walking closer to Felix until they were a foot apart.

"I'd like to see you try, pint size," Ralph growled, glaring down at Felix as he towered over him, hoping his imposing height would intimidate the handyman.

Felix kept his even scowl, crossing his arms over his chest to show that he wasn't going to back down that easily.

* * *

Vanellope groaned in frustration as she plopped down in her throne.

It had been another boring day at Sugar Rush as Vanellope, being the princess, was not allowed to race or even show herself until the players unlocked her.

"How hard is it to win the race in first place six times?" Vanellope grumbled to herself as she pulled at the collar of her dress in frustration. "And when can I take this stupid thing off?"

Sour Bill trotted up to Vanellope and gave a small bow.

"Good evening, princess."

Vanellope sighed. "Stop calling me that. I don't want to be a princess; it's no fun."

The young ruler continued sulking for a few more minutes before she perked up slightly.

"I know! How about we call me president?"

Sour Bill raised an eyebrow at the suggestion.

"President Vanellope Von Schweetz. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Princess…"

"President," Vanellope corrected.

Sour Bill sighed, but did not say anything more.

"Hey, Bill. Can you go get a few of my necklaces from my jewelry chest?"

"Of course, princess," Sour Bill muttered as he scampered off to Vanellope's room.

"President!" Vanellope called after the green ball of bitterness.

While Vanellope waited for Sour Bill's return, she stared at the ceiling wearily, resting the urge to flip upside down.

Suddenly there was a loud yelp and a panicked Sour Bill rushed back into the room.

"Th-the chest—it's gone!"

"Huh, gone?" Vanellope raised an eyebrow. "What about the jewelry?"

"All there."

"Hm." Vanellope hopped down from her chair. "Show me."

* * *

Vanellope stared at where her chest had been while Sour Bill gathered up all the jewelry and put it somewhere safe.

"I'm not saying a thief did get in here," Vanellope said as she glanced around for a clue of some sort. "But what sort of thief just steals the chest?"

As Vanellope continued to look around, she stopped when she noticed strange marks in the white floor.

"Hey, I found some marks!"

Sour Bill came up beside Vanellope, also staring at the marks.

The two followed the trail until they reached the throne room and the marks ended at the curtain leading to an unknown part of the castle.

Vanellope pulled back the curtain curiously, staring at the tiled floor behind which did not appear that it belonged in the candy-themed world.

She grinned, glancing back at Sour Bill.

"Come on."

Without waiting for the green ball to respond, Vanellope was already walking down the hallway, looking around as she went.

Sour Bill nervously followed after, glancing around as he kept a close distance between himself and Vanellope.

The princess abruptly halted and stepped back a few feet, staring down a hallway.

"Whoa, shiny," she muttered as she began to head toward the far end of the corridor.

A closed door with a strange panel stood at the far end of the hallway.

Vanellope pushed a few random buttons to try and open it, but it remained closed.

"How do you open this stupid thing?" Vanellope mumbled to herself before she paused, noticing something out of the corner of her eye.

Crouching down slightly, Vanellope noticed a strange code etched into the wall.

_Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start_

_Key, chest._

Blinking, Vanellope tried the code and was surprised that he door turned on its side and opened up to reveal a large void with many wires and squares flickering in the center of it.

"The game's code…" Sour Bill muttered, just as amazed as Vanellope.

"Whoa…" Vanellope breathed, staring at the emptiness before her in awe.

She took a step forward, but was stopped when Sour Bill said, "You shouldn't go in there, princess! It could be dangerous."

"But I feel like I have to. Like something's calling me…"

Sour Bill sighed before he picked up a nearby rope of licorice and tied it around Vanellope's waist.

"This might help…"

Vanellope smiled. "Thanks, Bill."

The ruler then jumped into the code and carefully made her way to the myriad of codes.

She glanced at all the codes, being careful not to bump into any of them as she passed them, before stopping when she noticed her chest.

"There you are."

Vanellope swam toward the chest, placing her hands on it.

"What are you doing in here?"

Vanellope then noticed that the chest was locked and frowned slightly.

She never locked her jewelry chest.

Vanellope pulled out the key hidden beneath her dress and unlocked the chest, jumping back a bit when two codes popped out, flickering to life as they automatically connected themselves to the rest of the system.

Vanellope blinked before grinning.

"Whoa, it worked!" she laughed. "I can't believe it!"

Excitedly, Vanellope began to swim back toward the entrance to the Sea of Code, but paused when she bumped into something.

Glancing back, the princess saw that it was a cod, parts of its cords sparking as they disconnected themselves from the terminal.

"Oops…" Vanellope muttered, still staring at the piece of code.

She couldn't exactly see what sort of code it was, but she deduced that it wasn't a code that important to the game and shrugged, continuing to the entrance.

As Vanellope came back onto solid ground, she glitched out of her dress and gave a content sigh as she stared at her green hoodie.

"All right, Bill," Vanellope said as she trotted out of the hallway. "I'm heading out."

"To where, princess?" Sour Bill questioned as he followed after the girl.

"Where else?"

The doors to the Sea of Code gradually began to close, but three curved claws shot out, barring the door from shutting all the way as the talons buried themselves into the metal.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Yeah, I know...two days early. I will usually update within a week, or if I managed to get between 7-9 (or more) reviews. :3**

**Golly, y'all have been so nice. You're reviews give me the honey glows xD  
**

**Have some candy, guys! :D  
**

**Uhh, anyway, there was...a question...I was gonna answer...oh yeah!  
**

**Lovemet123, sorry, but no. They won't physically meet. They will meet in...well...another way. You will have to wait until the next chapter to hopefully get what I mean. :3  
**

**Anyway...that's about it I think. :/ Hope you think this chapter is...Turbotastic... xD *chuckles* Sorry, guys, I've wanted to say that for a while now and it seemed like a good opportunity!  
**

**...Though I could have said it in the first chapter's author's note...  
**

**Please Read and Review. :)**

* * *

Vanellope stood at the exit to her game and stared at the long tunnel leading to Game Central Station.

She realized that this would be her first time leaving Sugar Rush without Ralph by her side to convince her that she _could_ leave; Vanellope was also going to try and leave Sugar Rush without wearing her princess attire.

"You can do this," Vanellope muttered to herself as she hopped out of her kart and went around to the spoiler. "You know why? Cause you're a winner. And you're adorable."

Glancing back at the exit, Vanellope started pushing her kart toward the exit, faltering slightly when she came closer to the opening before passing through it without being rejected.

When the princess realized that she was inside the tunnel, she grinned and excitedly hopped around, cheering.

"Take that, you stupid exit! Kiss my sugar-coated ass!"

With another whoop, Vanellope leaped into her kart, started it up, and raced off down the sparking tube.

* * *

Surge Protector was walking past the entrance to the many games along one side of Game Central Station, going through his normal routine of making sure everything was running smoothly.

Surge paused at the entrance to one game when he heard a strange noise echoing through the metal tunnel.

Staring down the tunnel, Surge adjusted his glasses as he attempted to see what was making the noise.

Before he could even react, a multi-colored kart burst out of the passageway and screeched to a halt in front of Surge, just a foot away from running into him.

"Oh, sorry, Surge," Vanellope apologized quickly, smoothing down her hair as she hopped out of her kart. "Later, Surge!"

As Vanellope rushed off, Surge's mind finally caught up with him as he stared at the kart blankly.

"Hey, you can't—" Surge glanced behind him, but the girl was already gone.

He looked back at the kart, wondering what he should do with it.

* * *

Vanellope made her way through the crowded station quite easily, glancing around as she searched for any sort of sign that looked familiar; however, Vanellope didn't even know how Zephyr plugged his games in and this Game Central Station, even though it was an exact copy of the CGS that she was used to, was still entirely different from what she knew.

And if there was one thing that Vanellope hated, it was being out of the loop.

"I need to get a better view…" Vanellope muttered to herself as she stopped, looking around.

She soon spotted a great spot on top of one of the multiple plugs inside the station.

"Ah-ha."

Glitching atop the plug, Vanellope gazed around, putting her hands around her eyes in makeshift binoculars so she could see better.

As she continued looking around, a few game characters began to notice her, stopping and staring up at the princess.

"What's she doing up there?"

"How'd she get there?"

"She's gonna get hurt!"

"Someone should get her down."

After getting a better sense of her surroundings, Vanellope finally glitched down from her perch, appearing in the center of the small crowd that had gathered, startling them.

"What was that?!" someone asked as Vanellope walked away.

"Was that a glitch?"

"I thought glitches weren't allowed to leave their games!"

"It's glitch-aggedon!"

Vanellope wasn't bothered by the whispers of 'glitch as she had grown used to it over the years and it no longer bothered her; even though none of the other racers called her glitch anymore, Taffyta still called her it, but it was now more of a teasing nickname and somehow a joke between them.

It was only fair, really, as Vanellope called Taffyta 'Lollipop' or 'Laffy Taffy' since it annoyed the white-haired racer.

When Vanellope found herself smiling slightly at the thought of Taffyta, she stuffed her hands in the pocket of her green hoodie as she wondered why she was even thinking about the jerky Taffyta.

The princess paused when she noticed two people casually walking a few feet away, holding each other's hands.

Vanellope grinned viciously.

* * *

Sora and Riku were calmly strolling through the station, holding each other's hands as they quietly enjoyed each other's company.

Abruptly, something shot between them, causing them to separate, but not for long.

Sora, obviously startled by whatever had interrupted them, screamed and leaped into the silverette's arms only to be dropped a second later by said silverette.

Riku shook his head as Sora rubbed his injured butt (and pride) while Vanellope cackled, running off to find more trouble to get into.

* * *

After torturing a few more games (including stealing Satine's staff and attempting to run off with it), Vanellope settled with walking through the station as she looked for any more familiar games (or new ones that she could make enemies or friends with).

Vanellope paused when she notice two people in their teens walking next to each other, one having a shield and a sword strapped onto his back.

The glitch smiled to herself.

"Okay. One more."

* * *

Link quietly walked beside Sheik, unsure of what he should say to the Sheikah to start up a conversation.

The hero stopped when he felt something on his shoulders and glanced behind him to see a small girl standing on his left shoulder, pulling the Master Sword out of its sheath.

"Hey!" he snapped, causing the girl to gasp, yank the rest of the blade free, and hop down. "Get back here, you little thief!"

"Catch me if you can, green boy!" Vanellope laughed, dragging the heavy Master Sword behind her as she bolted.

Link started running after Vanellope, but the girl was small and faster than he was.

Vanellope squeaked when someone grabbed her by the back of her hood, pulling her off the ground and up to eye-level with a not amused Sheik.

Quickly, Vanellope hid the sword behind her back as she put on a sweet smile.

"Hello."

"Return the Master Sword to the Hero," Sheik said simply, red eyes staring at Vanellope sternly.

"What sword?" Vanellope asked innocently, glancing off to the side. "I don't know what you're talking about, Red eyes."

Sheik gave the racer a slight shake, his patience slowly waning, as Link trotted up to them.

Reluctantly, Vanellope held out the sword to Link who took it and sheathed it.

"Now, apologize to the Hero."

"I'm sorry…" Vanellope mumbled, staring at the ground pitifully.

"Thank—"

"That you're so slow!"

Vanellope glitched out of Sheik's grasp, giving a smirk as she gave the two a mocking salute before skipping off, sticking her tongue out at the duo.

"See ya, suckers!"

Sheik and Link watched Vanellope go before Link frowned slightly, glancing at Sheik.

"I'm not that slow…am I?"

With a sigh, Sheik began to walk back in the direction they had come from.

"No, Hero, you are not slow."

With a smile, Link caught up with the Sheikah and casually slipped his hand into Sheik's.

* * *

Vanellope slowed down when she was certain that she had outrun the two characters and sighed, continuing her exploration of her new home.

"Come on!"

"No, I'm not leaving my—damn it, Felix, stop it!"

Vanellope stopped, perking up when she heard the name and glanced to her right to see Felix pulling on Ralph's leg, occasionally hoping behind the wrecker to push him from behind, as he attempted to get Ralph to exit his game.

"Felix, I said I won't leave the game."

"I just pushed you out, so you can't go back." Felix smiled, pleased that he had managed to practically drag the 643 pound man (Felix only weighed in at a dainty 95 pounds) out of his game as Ralph could have quite easily pushed him aside.

The wrecker sighed, looking around Game Central Station without much interest, before he glanced at Felix.

"You told me I just had to leave the game; I left the game. Can I go back now?"

"No flex on this one, Ralph. You're comin' with me to Tapper's."

Ralph scowled at the diminutive handyman who crossed his arms over his chest to show he was serious, giving Ralph a challenging glare.

Just as Ralph was about to go ahead and return to the game—Felix be damned—a voice stopped him.

"Stinkbrain!"

"Huh?" Ralph glanced behind him only to be surprised when something small latched onto his leg.

Both Felix and Ralph stared down at the girl clinging to the wrecker's leg before looking at each other.

"I missed you, you numbskull!"

Felix shrugged, just as puzzled as Ralph who looked back down at Vanellope.

"Do I know you, kid?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Okay, so here's the fifth chapter! :D**

**Don't get used to me updating within 2 days; you guys gave me 9 reviews in one day so I was happy! :D And feeling Turbo-tastic. :)  
**

**I have some news: Pretty soon, I will be putting up a story that is a Vanelyta story with Raphix and Peanut Butter Pumpkins (RancisxGloyd) as the minor pair. It will be AU, but a hopefully epic AU. :3 So look out for it.  
**

**Other than that, I don't own WIR.  
**

**Please Read and Review. :D**

* * *

Vanellope hopped back, staring at Ralph in confusion.

She didn't say anything, just stared at his eyes.

The Ralph she knew had warm eyes.

This Ralph…had lonely eyes.

The princess's mind caught up with her.

She was at Zephyr's, not Litwak's and Litwak hadn't relinquished Fix-It Felix Jr. to Zephyr.

"Right," she muttered. "Sorry. My game, Sugar Rush, just came in about a day or two ago."

"Welcome to the neighborhood," Felix said, holding out his hand for Vanellope to shake.

Vanellope stared at the hand skeptically before punching Felix's arm.

"Owww," the handyman whined, rubbing his injured arm. "What was that for?"

"It's how I show affection," Vanellope grinned innocently, rocking back on her heels.

"All right, kid," Ralph said before Vanellope could even think about punching him. "How do you know us?"

"It's a really long story…" Vanellope muttered, twirling her red drawstring around her fingers as she stared at the ground.

"Try us," Ralph growled, watching Vanellope blankly.

"Okay…" Vanellope sighed before she took a deep breath.

"I came from Litwak's arcade and there is also a Fix-It Felix Jr. game there which is how I know you two. Ralph was tired of being the bad guy so he went to Hero's Duty to win a medal but he lost it in my game and I took it to get into the race cause I was a glitch,"

Vanellope paused briefly when she glitched slightly before she continued her story.

"And no one wanted me to race and Ralph decided to help me cause he wanted his medal back, but it turned out King Candy gave the medal to Ralph and he destroyed my kart to protect me but came back to get me out of King Candy's fungeon and I got in the race and I was beating King Candy's ass, but I didn't know he was this other racer called Turbo and he reprogrammed my world and made me a glitch. He got eaten by a cy-bug—which is a giant bug that Ralph accidentally brought from Hero's Duty into Sugar Rush—which were trying to destroy everything and I couldn't leave cause I was a glitch so Ralph tried to make a beacon out of Diet Cola mountain, but this creepy King Candy-Turbo-cy-bug hybrid tried to stop him but he broke free and I save him and all the cy-bugs went poof and everyone was happy and it turned out that I was the princess, though I call myself president, of my game and then a few months later after the whole game-jumping incident, Zephyr came and Litwak gave up my game and that's how I'm here."

Vanellope panted, trying to catch her breath after explaining everything in under a minute.

"Uh…what was that now?" Felix asked, more confused than he had been before the explanation.

As Vanellope sat down, too tired to remain standing, she shuddered slightly.

"There were so many cy-bugs…"

Someone walking past the small group paused upon hearing cy-bug and grabbed Vanellope by the front of her hoodie, lifting her up.

"How do you know about the cy-bugs?"

"Hey, hands off the hoodie, Sergeant Happy!" Vanellope growled as she struggled to break free of Calhoun's grasp.

Reluctantly, Calhoun set her down, but didn't take her eyes off the girl.

"Explain."

"I just told them," Vanellope explained, brushing down her hoodie as she scowled at Calhoun. "I'm not telling it again."

"I can't say that I understand quite what a cy-bug is, Jean," Felix said, looking at Calhoun. "You never let me inside your game."

"Whoa, you two know each other?" Vanellope asked as she looked between the soldier and the handyman.

"And it's a good thing I haven't, Fix-It," Calhoun replied, stern as ever. "They're like a virus. All they know is kill, eat, multiply."

"Are you two dating here, too?" the racer questioned, beginning to grow irritated that she was being ignored.

"They sound mighty frightening, then," Felix said as Ralph sighed.

"Hey!" Vanellope hopped up between the two to get their attention. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, this is my friend, Tamora Jean Calhoun, sergeant of her regiment in Hero's Duty," Felix introduced. "Jean, this is, uh…"

"Vanellope."

"Vanellope," Felix repeated.

"Nice to meet you," Calhoun nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You two are friends?" Vanellope glanced between Felix and Calhoun. "You're not married?"

The two stared at Vanellope like she was crazy before they burst out laughing.

"This kid is a riot, Fix-It. She thinks that we would get married?!"

"I know, right?"

Ralph glanced back at the entrance to his game as he debated on whether he should sneak way while everyone was distracted.

Vanellope pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's not funny!" she whined. "Back at Litwak's, Felix and Sergeant Happy were together!"

That made the two laugh harder.

Felix, however, stopped when he noticed Ralph attempting to slip back into his game.

"Nuh-uh, Ralph. You're staying right here."

As Felix went to get the wrecker, Calhoun knelt beside an irritated Vanellope.

"Listen, kid. Felix is a nice guy, but I'd never be interested in someone like him."

Vanellope huffed. "I know. I keep thinking back to Litwak's."

"Look at him," Calhoun glanced at Felix, Vanellope following her gaze. "I've never seen him try so hard to make sure someone from his game doesn't return, especially the bad guy. This is the first time I've seen the junkpile out of his game and it's because of Felix. Ralph would never allow anyone else form his game to drag him out."

Vanellope watched as Felix finally managed to pull Ralph back to them and smiled slightly.

"We were just about to head to Tapper's, Jean," Felix said as he stopped a few feet away with the wrecker beside him. "Would you like to join us?"

"I would be honored to."

A black, porcupine-like creature brushed past the group, bumping into Vanellope.

"Hey, watch it!" Vanellope protested.

"You watch it, kid," the porcupine growled back without looking behind him.

"What a jerk…" Vanellope huffed, scowling after the porcupine.

"There's a thorn in your arm!" Felix gasped, pointing to Vanellope's arm.

Vanellope glanced at her right arm to see a black quill poking out of it.

"Will you look at that," she said as she pulled at the thorn. "Ow…ow…"

"The spikes on the quill are backward," Calhoun explained, taking a step forward. "You can't pull it out that easily."

Just as Calhoun and even Felix were about to help the racer take the quill out, Vanellope pulled out her pocketknife.

Flicking it open, Vanellope very carefully used the sharp tip to pull the quill out.

As the thorn fell to the ground, Vanellope wiped the blood off on her skirt and slid the pocketknife back in her pocket.

_She has a knife? _Calhoun wondered as Vanellope stared at her bleeding arm. _Whoa, this kid just got more interesting._

"Aw, man…this is my favorite hoodie…" Vanellope muttered, staring at the small hole in her jacket currently being stained by the blood running down her arm.

"Here," Felix stepped up, holding his hammer. "Let me fix it."

Felix healed the jacket and the wound with a tap of his hammer and Vanellope tested her arm.

"So where did you get such a thing?"

"Huh?" Vanellope blinked as she realized what Felix had asked. "Oh, I made it with the candy cane trees deep within the forest since they're the hardest and don't break easily."

When she felt no pain in her arm, Vanellope grinned.

"Thanks for the fix, Hammerguy."

Felix frowned slightly.

"H-hammerguy?" he asked, obviously offended by the comment.

"So are we goin' or not?" Vanellope finally asked before she suddenly vanished from sight.

"Whoa, where'd she go?" Felix questioned as the group searched for Vanellope.

"Yo, ya morons, over here!"

The trio looked behind them to see Vanellope on a tall lamppost.

"Get down before you hurt yourself, girl!" Calhoun called.

"I can't!" Vanellope whimpered slightly. "I can only use my glitching every so often in the station!"

"You think we should go get someone who can fly?" Felix suggested.

"Perhaps an Organization member will be happy to assist."

While Calhoun and Felix tried to figure out how to get Vanellope down, Ralph was already climbing the lamppost.

"Hey, kid," he said as he reached the top. "Why don't you hop on my shoulders and I'll get you down?"

When Vanellope got on his shoulder, Ralph slid to the ground and walked up to Felix and Calhoun, not bothering to remove the girl.

"I got her," he stated simply and the two glanced at him.

"You…got her?" Felix asked, looking at Vanellope then back at Ralph.

"So are we going or not?" Ralph asked, heading in the direction of Tapper's.

As the group made their way to the bar, idly chatting with each other, Vanellope began to notice how similar this Felix, Calhoun, and Felix were to the ones she had known with a few personality differences.

She began to miss her old friends and it was obvious that Ralph could tell.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, making sure that Felix and Calhoun couldn't hear him.

"Oh, it's nothing," Vanellope smiled as she stuck her hands in her pocket, holding onto the thin photo that was hidden within the folds.

It was a picture that had been taken after the cy-bug's defeat, but before Vanellope had crossed the finish line; it contained Felix, Vanellope, Ralph, and Calhoun who were all covered in scratches and mud with their clothes and hair disheveled.

Vanellope sat on Ralph's shoulder with one of the wrecker's large hands against her back.

Beside them Calhoun stood there with her arms crossed, a small smirk-smile on her face.

Felix had his hands behind his back, a nervous smile on as if he were afraid of being seen so dirty.

"_A moment like this must be documented."_


	6. Author's Note

Author's Note

**Hey guys...first separate Author's Note of ICFY...uhh...let me lay down some news for ya guys.**

**I probably won't be updating this story for a while and if I do, it'll probably be like a once in a blue moon sort of thing.**

**Does this mean it's going on Hiatus? Golly, no. I'm not putting it on Hiatus; just won't update for a while.**

**Now I do have some other news as well before I leave you guys to wallow in your feels or whatever.**

**That story I told you about? I got up the prologue of it.**

**It's called _Secrets from the Underground_. The title is based off the same song by the Offspring; I suggest you listen to it, it's an awesome song. xD**

**Please check it out and drop it a review.**

**The main pair will be Vanilla Taffy or Sweet Rivals or whatever you guys call-that's VanellopexTaffyta-for those of you who are out of the loop.**

**However the other pairings are RalphxFelix (who are already together) and RancisxGloyd (who...I haven't decided on where their relationship point is yet).**

**I know it's a different story than what you guys might be used to, but please check it out; it's going to be a great story. :3**

**Let me see...let me see...I think that is about it... :/ Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon; next week is finals so I probably won't be doing much writing.**

**Other than that...I'll see y'all real soon. :D**

**Lonely, out~  
**

**P.S. Please don't leave a review for this chapter. It's not really necessary; I'm just getting the news out. If you want to talk to me, feel free to PM me. But don't review this chapter...thingie...  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

**Yeah, sorry guys, this chapter barely breaks 1,200.  
**

**Uhh...yeah, I told you I would update. :3 For those of you who even checked it out, Secrets is now on hiatus while I work on a new RalphxFelix story.  
**

**Hopefully I will be able to get up the first chapter pretty soon, but it's gonna be a weird story...not AU, but...you'll see.  
**

**Let me see...oh yeah! Funny thing, I saw a commercial for this new show coming on Disney in 2013 and it's called Max Steel I think and the main character is like a superhero or something and his catchphrase is...  
**

**Get this...  
**

**Go...Turbo. xD  
**

**I busted out laughing when I heard him say, "Go Turbo!" and I was like "But I don't want to! :D "  
**

**...Good thing my mom wasn't around to hear that... :3  
**

**I don't own WIR. :/  
**

**Please Read and Review. :D**

* * *

It was a bit noisy inside Tapper's and the small group found a table in the far corner of the bar where they could continue to talk.

Tapper instantly came up to the quartet.

"Hello, Felix! Tamora!" he greeted with a smile before glancing at Ralph and raising an eyebrow. "Ah, Ralph! So you finally came out of your game, you hermit."

"I'm not a hermit," Ralph grumbled, glancing off to the side as Vanellope chuckled.

"Ahh, a new guest!" Tapper's grin widened. "And where are you from, young one?"

"Sugar Rush!" Vanellope chirped, leaning on the table with a smirk. "President Vanellope Von Schweetz."

"That has a nice ring to it."

"That's what I said!"

"Four root beers coming up," Tapper said, scurrying off to take more orders.

Vanellope decided that she liked this Tapper.

"Will you give us a bit more explanation on how you know us?" Felix asked as they waited for their drinks.

Right. There was that.

"I guess…" Vanellope muttered as she pulled out her picture and placed it on the table. "That was taken after the cy-bug attack."

"So these guys are the Ralph and Felix you knew," Felix said as they all stared at the picture.

"Must have been some adventure, kid," Ralph mumbled as Vanellope took the picture back and slid it inside her pocket.

"It was amazing," Vanellope grinned. "If it hadn't been for Ralph, I probably would have stayed a glitch forever and no one would have ever realized that King Candy was a dirty, rotten liar."

As the group continued to talk, changing the subject to a random topic, someone entered Tapper's and immediately headed over to the nearest character.

"Have you seen a girl my height with black hair and candy in it? Her name is—"

The person's eyes suddenly caught sight of Vanellope and they growled.

"Glitch!"

"Uh-oh," Vanellope glitched in alarm as she glanced behind her to see a furious Taffyta striding toward her. "Look, Taff, I can explain…"

"Then explain!" Taffyta demanded as Vanellope hopped down from her chair and began to back away. "Explain how we can remember everything that happened when everything was supposed to be reset after Litwak unplugged our game!"

"I just…used the idea that Turbo did when he locked everyone's memories away…" Vanellope smiled nervously as Taffyta stopped a foot away from her.

Taffyta stared at Vanellope skeptically for a few more seconds before she sighed, unable to stay mad at the princess.

"I guess since it didn't really hurt anyone…"

Vanellope grinned before giving Taffyta a quick hug.

"Thanks, Taff!"

"Anyway, the random roster races are about to start and even if you can't race in them, you still have to come and observe them."

"But I don't want to!" Vanellope whined, staring at Taffyta pleadingly. "It's not fun if I can't join in."

"It's not my choice," Taffyta shrugged. "I'll meet you at the track."

Vanellope gave a frustrated groan as Taffyta left Tapper's.

The princess paused as an idea came into her mind and she looked back at Felix and the others with a grin.

"Oh, no, kid," Calhoun stood up. "I'm beading back to my game where things make sense."

"Like flying mechanical bugs with a light addiction make sense!" Vanellope called after the sergeant.

"You're damn right they do, girl!" Calhoun replied.

Vanellope pouted as the blonde disappeared before she grinned again, looking at Felix and Ralph.

"Look, kid," Ralph started. "We have to return to our game before the arcade opens."

"We have four more hours!" Vanellope protested, staring at the duo with huge eyes.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Aww…" Felix murmured as he continued to stare into Vanellope's pleading, doleful eyes. "Just this once, Ralph?"

"No, Felix!" Ralph said as Felix came to stand beside Vanellope. "We should head back before the Nicelanders wonder where you are."

Felix gazed at Ralph, imitating Vanellope's puppy dog stare.

"We can't! Don't even use those eyes on me! They're not gonna—"

Felix removed his hat, holding it in front of him as he widened his eyes.

"I gotta—we should—you can't—"

As the duo continued to stare at him, Ralph finally cracked.

He groaned loudly, dropping his head on the table as he covered it with his arms.

"Fine! Just this once!"

Vanellope cheered as Felix put his hat back on.

Ralph grumbled to himself as he ran his hands through his hair before standing up.

"All right, let's go," he said, beginning to head toward the exit.

"Go, my loyal Stinkbrain!" Vanellope cheered as she hopped on Ralph's shoulders, pointing ahead.

Ralph glanced at Vanellope and Felix was afraid that perhaps Ralph would push the girl down because the wrecker didn't like people invading his personal space bubble.

But Ralph simply rolled his eyes as he continued, ignoring the girl leaning on his head.

Felix was surprised Ralph didn't get offended, but he was happy that the wrecker had already warmed up to Vanellope.

* * *

Ralph and Felix stared at Vanellope's kart as the girl started it up.

"This is your kart?" Ralph questioned skeptically.

"Yep!" Vanellope grinned. "Come on, get on!"

"Are you certain it will hold us?" Felix asked hesitantly as he slowly sat on the back.

"Will you just get on?" the princess sighed, giving an annoyed look at the duo.

Once Ralph had climbed onto the back, the kart creaking with the extra weight, Vanellope shifted her kart into the highest gear and took off down the tunnel to her game.

Surge returned just as the kart disappeared, having finally decided to give it a ticket.

When he noticed that it was gone and heard the engine echoing down the tunnel, he sighed.

"I hate my job."


End file.
